It seemed only a matter of time before viewers once again entered the infamous apartment of 4616 Melrose Place. The remake of the hit prime time soap premiered on September 8th 2009. It begins with David Patterson hooking up with a girl in a swanky nightclub. He soon receives a text from a woman named Sydney who needs his help. He tries unsuccessfully to gather the remaining cast members to answer Sydney’s call. In the end, he races back, solo, to the familiar building; running past the swimming pool and into the residence of Sydney Andrews, the vixen of the original series who up until now was presumed dead.

Sydney is not the only cast member from the original series to reprise her role. Dr. Michael Mancini has also returned as the estranged father of David Patterson. While fans of the original series may be happy to see two of their favorite characters return, it is a short lived celebration because Sydney is murdered halfway through the premiere. What a way to screw with your audience, writers.

“The new series says goodbye to denim shorts, backwards baseball caps, tucked in t-shirts, aerobicize, boomboxes, grainy B-roll, and most importantly the hair!”

Some may express disappointment with the untimely death of the popular Sydney Andrews and to be honest they do have something to gripe about. It is risky to kill off such an integral character in the Melrose Place universe so unexpectedly after bringing her back from the dead. Some may even call it a mistake. But I personally think the writers are on to something. The murder will obviously serves as a central plot line for most of the first season emphasizing the importance of the character while still signaling a departure from the original series. It also gives the new series a more dramatic opening than the original.

The new characters, while stereotypical for most prime time soaps, have also been given a more dramatic makeover. David has a problem with drugs and a past with Sydney (incidentally, so does his father). Ella, the career-oriented bitch with a heart of gold pines after another woman’s man while flirting with lesbianism. Augie Kirkpatrick, this series’ Jake Hanson, is a recovering alcoholic and chef at a swanky restaurant (and yes, he rides a motorcycle). Jonah Miller and Riley Richmond’s picture perfect relationship will likely fall victim to lies, deceit and sex scandal, after sex scandal, after sex scandal. There is the token minority, Lauren Bishop, a struggling a med student who sleeps with a man in order to pay her tuition (she gets five grand for the act too. Not to shabby for one night). Finally there is the quiet small town girl, Violet Foster, who is new to the building and carries with her a bombshell of a secret.

Based on the pilot alone, it think it is safe to say this new series is off to a much better start than the original. First off the dialogue, while nothing to write home about, is better this time around. There is also the absence of 1990s camp that the original repeatedly drove into the ground. The new series says goodbye to denim shorts, backwards baseball caps, tucked in t-shirts, aerobicize, boomboxes, grainy B-roll, and most importantly the hair! It goes without saying they did not hire the hair dresser from the original series. Thank God!

So if you’re a fan of melodrama, sexy people and erotic situations, you may become a fast fan of the new Melrose Place.